Automobile storage building



March 15, 1932. E. M WHEELOCK AUTOMOBILE STORAGE BUILDING Original Filed Feb. 27, 1926 4 Sheet's-Sheet Invenidr! E M Wh'eelock.

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March 1 5, 1932. E WHEELOCK 1,849,470

AUTOMOBILE STORAGE BUILDING Original Filed Feb. 27, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Eg-z In yen-ton .E. M Wheelock.

97% My M II flttorneya March; 15,- 1932. E. M. WHEELOCK 0 AUTOMOBILE I STORAGE BUILDING Original Filed Feb. 27, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fig-3 7 42 66 17 9 -6 no Inventor-J 44 E M Wheelock. 9%WMW us 4 9' fitter/169a.

March 15, 1932. E M WHEELOCK 1,849,470

AUTOMOBILE STORAGE BUILDING Original Filed Feb. 27, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 .E'. M Wheelock. [2'9 --8 W4 W ffzforneys,

In ventor':

Patented Mar. 15, 1932 I v UNITED STATES" PATENT oi-"HcE M. WHEEIIOOK, OF MILLER, SOUTH DAKOTA, ASSIGNOB TO KENT GARAGE IN VESTING CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y, A CORPORATION 01 DELAWARE AUTOMOBILE STORAGE BUILDING Application filedlebruary 27, 1926, Serial 1T0. 91,080. Renewed January 7, 1981.

- Mg invention relates to automobile storage buil i large cities have made it necessary to provide trafiic regulations which either entirely prohibit the parking of automobiles in the streets of congested sections, or so limit the time allowed for parking that automobile owners whose business requires their presence in the city for the reater part of the day are either compelled to leave their automobiles at places remote from their places of business or to refrain from driving their automobiles as a means of reaching and departing from their places of business. There are frequently places even in congested portions of a city having considerable ground in the rear of buildings occupying valuable frontage where automobiles could be stored if a suitable building were provided upon such unoccupied rear spaces. An object, therefore, in particular of my invention is to provide a storage building for such unoccupied pieces of round where automobiles may be stored wit out interfering materially with the use of the valuable frontage for ordinary business purposes.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connectlon with the detailed description thereof, and the novel featuresof my inventive idea will be particularly pointed out in the claims. 1

In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one form in which my invention may be embodied,

Fig. 1 is a lan view of the lower floor of a building. *ig. 2 is a view in vertical section showing a truck for carrying automo-- biles in position on an elevator. Fig. 3 is a view similar to the lower portion of Fig.2 but showing the elevator dropped to a slightly lower osition while the truck is restrained from urther downward movement. Fig. 4 is a plan view showing the truck on the elevator. Fig. 5 is a view in section on the line .tions of the side walls of the front 5--5 of Fig. 4. Fi 6 is a view in section on the hue 6-6 of ig. 4. Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view of a winding drum and elevawall 14 provided with entrances from the street. The front portion of the building is separated from the rear or storage portion by a partition wall 16 having an openin therein for a purpose which will be explaine later. The front portion of the building is intended for business purposes such as stores and for illustration may be considered as comprising a grocery 18, a meat market 20, a ladies waiting room 22, a checkroom 24, a mens waiting room 26, a room 28 for tires, and a room 30 for oils. Back of the artition 16 is the storage portion of the uilding which has its side walls formed as continuaortion and which may be built up to any desired or permissible height. This ortion of the building is provided with a -p urality of floors indicated at 32 which may be of cement or any other suitable material and supported by vertically disposed I-beams 34. As will be apparent from Fig. 1, the verticals 34 are arranged in properly spaced relation not only along the side walls but also along the sides of a centrally disposed alley-way having floor sections 36 which are located at slightly lower levels than the floors 32 at the sides thereof. At the opening in the partition 16, there is an elevator having a platform 38 whose front side, as shown in Fig. 1, is substantially in alinement with the partition 16 so that the elevator is located just to the rear of this partition. The elevator ma be of any suitable type and, as illustrate is hydraulic and adapted to be operated by a plunger 40 in the usual manner. The elevator platform 38 is supported upon angle beams 42 which rest upon and are secured to cross beams 44 whereby an upper frame is formed which is connected by vertical members 45 to a lower number of posts 54 which are placed in the pit. The upper end of the plunger 40 is secured to the frame of the elevator by a framelike construction 56 which permits the vertical movement of the platform section 52. A truck having a platform 58 is mounted on wheels 60 and is adapted to cooperate I both with the elevator and with the alleyways. In the particular embodiment shown, the wheels 60 are ada ted to run in grooves 62 in the elevator plat orm 38 and in grooves 64 in the floor sections 36-. The truck platform 58 is provided with a central circular aperture 66 which receives a cylindrical projection 68 carried by the elevator section 52 when the latter is in the position shown in Fig. 3. The elevator section 52 carries a circular row of ball bearings 70 which fit into a circular groove 72 when the platform section 52 is above the main portion of the platform. The groove 72 is formed in a ring secured to the lower surface-of the platform 58 as best shown in Fig. 6. When the truck is held up in the manner just described, it may be readily turned since the wheels 60 are now out of the grooves 62. The reason for turning the truck will be understood from Fig. 1 which represents the ground floor and u on which dotted lines 74 indicate the path 0 an entering automobile while dotted lines 76 indicate the path of a departing automobile. When the truck is turned into the position shown in this Figure, the entering automobile may be readily run thereon, the truck platform having guide rails or tracks 78 for the wheels of the automobile. It will be apparent from Fi 3 that the truck platform when restraine from further downward movement is level with the main floor of the building. In case the path ofthe entering automobile were directly in front of the ele- .p

vator, then the truck would be turned through ninety degrees instead of forty-five degrees as shown, while if the automobile entered through the side of the building dire'ctly opposite the elevator, then it would not be necessary to turn the truck for receiving the automobile. For other positions, however, other than that last mentioned, when the automobile is in position on the truck, it is necessary to turn the latter back so that the wheels 60 will be directly above the grooves 62, and then upon lifting the elevator the truck wheels will fit into the grooves 62. When the elevator has been raised to the desired floor, it is stopped and the truck is run off into the alleyway as seen in Fig. 8, the wheels 60 running in the ooves 64 as guides. The floors 32 at each side of the alleyway are provided with a plurality of stalls arranged between the verticals 34 and having tracks or groves 8O which aline with the tracks or guide rails 78 on the truck when the latter is moved into proper position. These two sets of tracks are at the same height due to the fact that the grooves or tracks of the alleyway which receive the wheels of the truck are lower than the tracks or grooves of the floors 32. As shown in Fig. 2, the upper alleyway, instead of being provided with a solid floor, is provided with rails 64 secured to the verticals 34. These rails correspond to the grooves or tracks 64 since they are so positioned that the tracks on the truck on the floors 32 will be in alinement when the truck is moved horizontally into the proper position. It is, of

course, obvious that other alleyways may be supplying the motor with current since an I ordinar trolly arrangement would be difficult 0 employment on account'of the fact that the truck must be capable of operation at different heights corresponding to the different floors. Secured to the elevator by brackets 88 there is a drum 90 as shown in Fig. 7 having a central flange 92 which separates it into two parts. A cable or insulated wire 94 is arranged to wind on one portion of this drum with the outer end of the cable connected with one terminal of the motor 82. A cable or insulated wire 96 is arranged to wind on the other portion of the drum with the outer end thereof connected with a switch 98 placed on a platform 100 upon which the operator may stand. This switch is connected with the other terminal of the motor and while the switch construction constitutes no art of my invention, nevertheless it is to be understood that provision is made whereby the direction of the motor may be reversed. The inner end of the Wire 94 which winds on the drum is secured to a contact pin 102 insulatively mounted in the cylindrical core of the drum and adapted to move in contact with the inner end of a fixed rod 104 insulatively mounted in the bracket which supports the drum. The rod 104 is connected by a wire 106 with a contact block 108 insulatively supported near one corner of the elevator. The

wire 110 which leads to a contact block 112 insulatively supported adjacent the contact block 108.- The blocks 108 and 112 have a wiping or sliding contact respectively with vertical conducting strips 114 and 116 which are fastened by insulating blocks to the vertical 34 which is adjacent this corner of the elevator, it being understood that the strips 114 and 116 are connected with a source of electrical energy so that they constitute a lead and return. A s ring mechanism 118 is connected with the rum so as to keep the wires 94 and 96 wound up thereon to prevent slack and at the same time permit the truck to run on anyone of the alleyways toward and away from the elevators. A device 120 is shown adjacent the switch 98 for controlling the up and down movement of the elevator and another device 122 is also shown for cansing the truck to be rotated when it is in the position shown in Fig. 3. The devices '120 and 122 constitute no part of the resent invention and, hence, are not descr1 d in detail. .It is obvious that guide rails for the wheels of the truck may be employed in place of the grooves 62 and .64.

The 0 eration and advantages of my invention will be understood in connection with the foregoing description. Automobiles which are to bestored in the building enter through a doorway on the ground fioor and are laced on the truck when the latter is lifte with relation to the elevator as shown in Fig. 3 so that the truck may be turned to take the automobile as shown in Fig. 1 which is the loading position. It will be understood that for unloading purposes, the truck may be turned so that the automobile will be taken oil? in the path indicated by the dotted lines 76 and it will be apparent that this will cause the automobile to move oif front first. The circular space in the floor around the elevator permits the truck to-be turned'without interference from the floor. Whenan automobile has been placed on the truck, the latter is turned so as to coincide lengthwise with the elevator platform which is shown as having a length considerably greater than its width. The elevator is then lifted to the desired floor and stopped in roper position for the truck to be moved 0 the elevator and along the alleyway as will be understood from Fig. 8. The operator by manipulating the switch 98 may cause the truck to move into position for discharging the automobile into any desired stall on either side of the alleyway. If there is an automobile waiting to be taken out on any of the floors of the building, the truck may be readily moved into alinement with the stall containing this automobile where upon the truck and elevator are operated reversely to the operation just described.

I claim:

1. In an automobile storage building, a plurality of floors, an elevator, means for,

raising and lowering said elevator,-a truck cooperatin with Sfild. elevator, means for lifting said truck relatively to said elevator as the latter approaches its lowermost position, and means permitting said truck to be rotated when thus lifted.

2. In an automobile storage building, a plurality of floors, an elevator, means for raising and lowering said elevator, a truck adapted to be held in'position upon said elevator, and means which releases said truck for rotation when said elevator approaches its lowermost position.

3. In an automobile-storage building, a plurality of floors, an elevator, means for raisin and lowerin said elevator, a truck adapted to be held in position upon said elevator,

said elevator having a member adapted to move vertically with relation to the main portion thereof, means for lifting said member relatively to said main member as said elevator approaches its lowermost osition whereby said truck is also lifted, and.

truck which permit the latter to be rotated when thus lifted.

4. In an automobile storage building, a plurality of floors, an elevator, means for raising and lowering said elevator, a truck adapted to be held in position upon said elemeans. interposed between said member and 881d vator, said elevator having a vertically movable section, a stop device for arresting the movement of said vertical section when said elevator approaches its lowermost position whereby said truck is lifted with relation to the main portion of said elevator, and means permitting said truck to be rotated when thus lifted.

5. In an automobile stora e building, structure providing a central alflyway and a plurality of storage stands on each side of the.

alleyway, an e evator alined with the alleyway, a truck cooperating with the alleyway,

means for lifting the truck relative to said elevator as the latter approaches its lowermost position, and pivoting means to keep the truck positioned relative to the elevator while the truck is rotated.

6. In combination, an elevator platform, a truck coo crating with the elevator platform, and pivot means to keep the truck positioned relative to the elevator while the truck is rotated.

7 In an automobile storage buildin ,structure providing a central alleyway an a plu rality of store e stands on each side of the alleyway, an e evator located in one end of the alleywa an entrance passageway leading to the e evator, an exit passageway leading to the elevator at an angle from the entrance passageway, and a truck cooperating with the elevator and rotatable to aline with either the entrance exit assageway.

8. 11 an automobile storage building, strucpassageway or with the ture providing a central alleyway and a plurality of storage stands on each side of the alleyway, an e evator located in one end of the alleyway, a room located in the end of the building in alinement with the elevator and on the side of the elevator opposite the alleyway, an entrance passage on one side of said room and leading to the elevator, an exit passage on the other side of the room and leading to the elevator at an angle from the entrance assage, and a truck cooperating with the e evator and rotatable to aline with either the entrance passageway or with the exit passageway.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifix my signature.

EDWIN M. WHEELOCK. 

